袁世凯
Yuán Shì​kǎi

Yuan Shikai

袁 yuán robe

Original meaning: get into (armor)

Depicts a hand (又) putting on clothes (衣). Based on the original meaning "get into armor", now written as 擐. A circle (圓) was later added in the middle to indicate the sound.

Components

又
又 Iconic component
yòu hand
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 又 than it was in ancient scripts.
圓
圓 SoundRemnant component
yuán circle

Depicts a circle. Early form of 圓 (round).

衣
衣 Iconic component
yī clothes

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (3 of 6 verified)

猿辕遠睘轅園

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarthjwon[ɢ]ʷa[n] long robe

說文解字

《說文》：“袁，長衣皃。从衣，叀省聲。”

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.664
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

世 shì generation

Original meaning: leaf

Depicts three leaves on branches of a tree. Remnant from the top part of 枼. Based on the original meaning "leaf", now written as 葉. The meaning later shifted to "generation", since leaves pile up in hundreds much like a generation.

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Spring and Autumn 771-476 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Spring and Autumn 771-476 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Spring and Autumn ~700 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Warring States ~300 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Warring States ~300 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (0 of 3 verified)

泄绁贳

Iconic (1)

枼

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartsyejHl̥ap-s generation

說文解字

《說文》：“世，三十年為一世，从卉而曳長之，亦取其聲也。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.159劉志基《中國漢字文物大系》Vol 3, p.70
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

凯 kǎi victorious Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 岂 represents the meaning and 几 represents the sound. Simplified form of 凱.

Components

岂
岂 SoundMeaning component
qǐ victorious music, happy
几
几 Sound component
jǐ, jī small table
Change in sound

Historical Pronunciations

Sources

Character origin
李学勤《字源》p.430
Readings & variants
Unicode

凱 victorious Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 豈 represents the meaning and 几 represents the sound.

Components

豈
豈 SoundMeaning component
qǐ victorious music, happy
几
几 Sound component
jǐ, jī small table
Change in sound

Character Evolution

Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartkhojXC.qʰˤəjʔ pleasant

Sources

Character origin
李学勤《字源》p.430
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica